One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
by BonesBird
Summary: Linda and Pride have a conversation about what is keeping them apart, and decide that it's time to call time on it, so Pride can test new things. (Linda/Pride and some hints of Brody/Pride) SPOILERS FOR 1X07. Set between 1x06 and 1x07.


**I ended up writing another NOLA fic... whoops. So, long story short, my best friend PinkAngel17 and I watched NOLA together... as we do every episode... and when that last scene happened she BEGGED me to write an episode tag using that scene as a reference. So this is set between 1x06 and 1x07. It's both Pride/Linda and Pride/Brody pairings... because I am going to end up going down with Pride/Brody. I just know it. Please read and review.**

**Shin xx **

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><p>He wasn't sure what had changed in the last week. He and Linda had been making a few strides forward, then the brakes had been thrown on and now he suffering from a severe case of whiplash. They'd mostly eaten in silence tonight, neither one of them sure where to start the conversation. So they both sat at the table in the kitchen at the NCIS headquarters and ate very slowly and carefully. It wasn't even the comfortable silence he'd always assumed it would be, it was just silence. That was until there was a clattering and a lilting laugh echoed through, a second later followed by Meredith Brody. She stopped in her tracks and looked between the two sat at the table and her cell which she'd clearly been talking on until a few moments earlier. Clearly she realised she'd walked in on something that was best kept private so backed away while apologising. "Oh, sorry. I didn't think anyone would be here. Never mind."<p>

"S'ok Brody." He called after her, but before he'd got it out completely she was back out of the main gate. He kept looking after her just for a second, simultaneously annoyed that she'd interrupted and sad that she'd left.

It was only at that moment that Linda looked certain enough to speak, but what she said didn't seem to make sense, at least not to him. "When did it happen?"

"What do you mean?" He shot back, confused as to what she could possibly be talking about. Nothing at all had happened, not that he could remember at least, and definitely not in the last two weeks.

"I'm not blind Dwayne, it was obvious." There was no accusation in her tone, and no anger, but he still didn't know.

"I don't know what you mean, Linda." He still didn't have a clue, and he was fairly sure that for this conversation, it was somewhat required that he understand what he was being asked.

She motioned toward the doorway where the young agent had exited a few minutes earlier. "When did it happen?" _Brody_? Was she jealous of Brody?

"Nothing happened." Nothing ever would either. There were emotions involved, mostly his, but beyond the fact that he was faithful, she was also not the kind of woman who would fool around with a married man. So he'd kept it to himself, and hoped nobody would know.

"No, I know that." Well, that was good to know. Had he always been this transparent or was this a new thing? He had always tried to hide as much away as he could, maybe he wasn't as good at that as he'd once been. "Not between you, and she's clearly still clueless. But you care about her, don't you?"

He was not really ready to admit that, not yet, and since he hadn't admitted it he could try and play it off. Try, that was the important point. If the rest of this conversation was a guide the likelihood of it working was around zero. "I care about Christopher too. They are my team."

"Not in the same way, and we're both aware of that. Was it all along?" Trying to put a finger on the moment when he'd looked at Brody and realised how much they had in common was harder than he expected. All he could remember was that Laurel was home, and they were talking about pianos in the car.

"I don't know when it started, but there was a point when we were talking about pianos..." That was all he could remember, and that may not have been what Linda was looking for, but it was the truth. The only other thing he could say was to reiterate that his feelings all there'd ever be. "There is nothing going on, and there never would be."

"We've been separated for a while now. Maybe it's time we cut the cord." Was she suggesting they make this permanent? After how close they'd come to fixing things? "We can still be friends while admitting that our marriage is over. I think it might be best for the both of us."

"Linda... I..." He tried to think of something to say, something to make her realise that she was wrong, but nothing came to mind. So he just stopped trying.

"It happens, you shouldn't be so worried about everything." She reached out and squeezed his hand with a sad smile across her face. She had made up her mind, even if he hadn't quite yet. "If you've found someone you like you should let yourself explore that. Or at the very least, let yourself go."

Letting himself go had always been easier said than done, but he could try. There was still one last question in his mind, something he couldn't pretend he didn't want to ask. "Can I change your mind?"

She just shook her head slowly, squeezing his hand again. "Probably not, I'll close up the house, go and stay with my sister for a while. Then we can decide what to do with everything. What we're going to keep for Laurel." Splitting everything up, separating for good.

"I wish it wasn't this way." That was really all he could think of for this, he didn't want this to be the way it was going, but probably they'd both be happy about it.

"Your job always came between us Dwayne." Linda stood up and patted his cheek lightly, then headed toward the doorway, stopping on the threshold before she left properly. "I'll speak to you soon."

"Linda, I'm sorry." He commented and frowned, not wanting her to leave, but also not knowing what else he could do to make her stay.

"Me too." She looked at him sadly then turned and left. That was it, he was sure of that.

It was a long sleepless night, but the following morning he went about business as usual. Setting up the building as he always did. Trying just to forget what Linda had said, both about him and about the situation. He was just staring into a blank space somewhere beyond his computer screen when a voice broke him from his reverie. "You alright?"

"I will be." He said decisively, and he would be. He needed to be.

Brody still looked a little sheepish. "I'm still sorry about walking in on you and Linda last night. I hope it's alright?"

"Of course." He smiled at her, not wanting to make her worry about what had happened, and definitely not wanting her to think that there was anything being her fault. Given that normally nobody would be in today, he assumed there was a body somewhere waiting for them. "What's next?"

"We've been called out to the docks. I already called Chris, and Wade is going to meet us out there." Brody grabbed whatever she'd needed from her desk that had required her coming her before going to the scene. "Want to ride down with me? Will save us taking two trucks."

"I'll drive." He replied, grabbing his jacket and hat and following her out to the evidence truck. They might as well take it out there since they were both travelling to the same place. He tried to push Linda's words the night before out of his mind and focus on what he was supposed to be doing, which was his job. He was glad that Brody was the one there with him.


End file.
